Holy Emissary, from Yiddish Motifs

Description

Geller’s Yiddish Motifs portfolio depicts scenes of Jewish identity and daily life in a series of seven woodcuts printed on Japanese wood veneer paper, an unusual paper choice, given that it was typically used for decorative purposes. Maxwell Street was a predominantly Jewish neighborhood on the city’s Near West Side, known for its large outdoor bazaar, sadly dismantled in the 1990s by development. These prints show a crowded marketplace, a vendor at work, a student in deep concentration, and a pair of street musicians. The Yiddish Motifs portfolio was a great success, with the entire edition selling out in just three weeks.

Holy Emissary, from Yiddish Motifs

Todros Geller

1926

Accession Number

4540

Medium

Woodcut on Japanese wood veneer paper mounted on paper

Dimensions

Image: 10.5 × 9 cm (4 3/16 × 3 9/16 in.); Wood veneer paper: 15.8 × 12 cm (6 1/4 × 4 3/4 in.); Sheet: 43 × 32.5 cm (16 15/16 × 12 13/16 in.)

Classification

woodcut

Museum

The Art Institute of Chicago

Chicago, United States

Credit Line

Gift of the Artist